Cricketer Hollioake to be cremated

The funeral service for England cricketer Ben Hollioake following his death in a car crash will be held on Wednesday, it emerged today.

The 24-year-old Surrey star died instantly after losing control of his high-powered Porsche 924 and crashing into a pylon in Perth, Western Australia.

Undertakers in Perth said his funeral will be held at a Catholic church near Fremantle on Wednesday afternoon. He will then be cremated on Thursday morning.

Police said results of the examination would not be published, but added they were not expected to show that alcohol had been a factor in the accident.

Hollioake was with his girlfriend Janaya Scholten, 22, who suffered serious head and chest injuries in intensive care in hospital.

His sister, Eboni, was in a following car. Their father, John Hollioake, who lives in Perth, said: "It is devastating, especially for Eboni, who saw her brother crash. She is absolutely devastated, as we all are." The family, including Hollioake's brother, Surrey captain Adam Hollioake, was returning from a meal in Perth and the two cricketers were due to return to England.

Today, his former headmaster paid tribute to his "outstanding sporting prowess".

Hollioake was 10 when he joined Adam at St George's College Junior, in Weybridge, Surrey

Headmaster, Father Martin Ashcroft, said: "The world was on the verge of seeing just how talented he was. I am deeply saddened. I remember once when Ben threw a ball 50 metres during a cricket game - an almost impossible distance for a 10-year-old. He never forgot the school even when he started playing for England. Ben and Adam returned several times a year and gave coaching lessons to the senior boys. Pictures of Ben and Adam take pride of place in the school.

"Ben stood out at school. He was popular with pupils and staff. He was good academically but was an outstanding sportsman."

At the school - known then as Woburn Hill - Hollioake also excelled at hockey. He took its under-11 mini hockey team to the 1989 national finals.

Former prime minister John Major, president of Surrey County Cricket Club, is expected to join several of Hollioake's Surrey playing colleagues, including England star Alec Stewart, flying out for the funeral.

Surrey players Mark Butcher and Graham Thorpe are also expected to travel to Perth from New Zealand, where they are involved in a Test series.

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